The Blotter: Lottery Strike

Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files

Winner Winner Police responded to a call from the manager of a Circle K on The Plaza after they recently found that one of their employees had gotten lucky ... too lucky. The manager told police they had watched surveillance video from the suspect's shift in which the employee took lottery tickets from the drawer and scanned for winners without paying for the tickets. The suspect would then find a winner and take the amount out for that ticket, as if a customer had bought it. In total, the suspect took $1,400 in "winnings" from the cash drawer in just three hours.

Such a Drag A 27-year-old University City man filed a police report after being assaulted by someone who just wanted to hold hands for a little while. The victim told officers that the suspect signaled him over to a vehicle they were driving then grabbed his hand and drove off, dragging the victim for about half a mile. It's unclear how this could possibly be an accident, but the report was listed as a non-criminal incident and no charges were filed. The victim was hospitalized but only suffered minor injuries.

It's Over On the night after Christmas, all through the neighborhood, not a one light was shining, and the neighbors felt good. A 44-year-old woman living near South Mecklenburg High School learned last month that her neighbors were not going to put up with her keeping her Christmas lights on for even 24 hours past the holiday. The woman told officers that someone cut the electrical wire leading to her lights at around 5:45 p.m. on December 26. It might have been worth it just to buy more and put them up out of spite alone, but it's (probably) too late for that (maybe).

The Small Screen Police responded to an assault call in west Charlotte recently after a man faced a sweeping defeat during a fight in a home. The man told police that the suspect had thrown a TV at him then hit him with a broomstick before he finally took a hint and left the house. He luckily did not suffer any injuries.

Take It Back Employees at a Rooms To Go in southeast Charlotte were perplexed last week when a man came to return an item, although he had no way to prove he had ever been there in the first place. A manager eventually called police after the man came in and refused to leave until he was given a refund, but told them he had no identification to verify that he was the one who had bought the item, nor did he know any phone number or even a name that would verify his account there. Looks like you're keeping the couch, sir.

Give It Back Two men were more successful in getting their refund recently, albeit not from a company but from a burglar in Uptown. One of the men told officers that an unknown suspect had broken into his car and stolen his phone. He and his friend went looking for the suspect and found him nearby. They were able to get the phone back, but this new development upset the suspect, who pulled out a knife and also showed the men that he was packing. The suspect never did pull his gun out or get close enough to stab the victims, and everyone went home with what was rightfully theirs.

Keep It Police responded to a robbery call at a Family Dollar in north Charlotte last week after another man was more successful with using implications to rob someone. The clerk at the store told police that the suspect simply reached over the counter and grabbed a $20 bill and a $5 bill then ran out of the store. When the clerk chased him, the suspect turned around and reached into his waistband, implying that he had a gun, although he never showed it. The clerk decided it wasn't worth dying over $25, and smartly let the suspect run off into a nearby apartment complex.

Sacked There aren't many people in this city who could face off with Cam Newton in a fight, but it's not too difficult to swing on a cardboard cutout of him if you're feeling upset about his recent playoff loss — just make sure it doesn't belong to someone else. A 28-year-old man called police to his University City apartment recently after a friend got too rowdy with his memorabilia. The victim told police that the suspect damaged his "cardboard statue" of Cam Newton, and also his wooden carving of a bird, doing $100 in damage.

Stashed A 37-year-old Charlotte woman recently received a basket of goodies that she didn't ask for nor want. The woman reported that her car was recently stolen at a Walmart in Concord, and police there were able to ID a couple suspects through surveillance and find them driving the car elsewhere in the town. After making the arrest, they returned the car to the woman at her northeast Charlotte home, but they apparently didn't do a great job of cleaning it out. The woman filed a report with CMPD to turn over items still in her car that she said belonged to the thieves: 10 cellphones, a tablet, books, paperwork with the suspects' names, a laptop, six backpacks, a wallet, a knife, a purse, two handbags, keys, syringes and, of course, a chainsaw.

Yin and Yang A man who entered a Rite Aid in the SouthPark area last week was apparently facing a potential problem, but he was destined not to let it happen again. According to the report, the suspect came into the store and shoplifted multiple pregnancy tests, and just in case those came back negative, he also stole $217 worth of condoms, so as not to go through anymore pregnancy scares.

All stories are pulled from police reports at CMPD headquarters. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.